Non-cellular life is life that exists without a cellular structure. This term presumes the phylogenetic scientific classification of viruses as lifeforms, which is a controversial issue.
Hypothesized artificial life, self-replicating machines, and most simple molecules capable of self-replication, such as crystals, are not usually considered living. (See definition of life.)
Some biologists refer to wholly syncytial organisms as "acellular" because their bodies contain multiple nuclei which are not separated by cell membranes, however these cell-bound organisms are outside the scope of the present article.
Read more about Non-cellular Life: History, Virus, Viroid, Controversy, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“Our intellect is not the most subtle, the most powerful, the most appropriate, instrument for revealing the truth. It is life that, little by little, example by example, permits us to see that what is most important to our heart, or to our mind, is learned not by reasoning but through other agencies. Then it is that the intellect, observing their superiority, abdicates its control to them upon reasoned grounds and agrees to become their collaborator and lackey.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)